In recent years, automobile lighting systems have become more and more complex as a variety of lighting options have been made available by manufacturers. For example, there are headlights that automatically dim and turn off, and more and more cars have fog lights. For light on/off switches, usually mounted somewhere in the automobile dashboard, are operated independently of the headlight switch in most vehicles. The headlight switch, on the other hand, may be mounted on the dashboard or, as is often the case in many cars, on an arm on the steering wheel column. Switches that control instrument dimming are commonly part of the headlight switch.
To deal with multiplicity of switch operations that may be required to control headlights, foglights and dimming, manufacturers often install a "universal" headlight switch. This is a switch that contains all the possible separate switches that may be needed. The separate switches may be "ganged" or arranged in banks. Some or all of the switches are used in a particular application depending on how many lighting options are used. A universal lighting switch can be an expensive way to accommodate different options. Some manufacturers, on the other hand, provide separate headlight switches and a "customized switch" for each particular combination of options. Different option combinations therefore calls for the installation of different headlight switches. Customized switches avoid the expense of the all option or universal switch, but there may be little or no net savings considering the inventory of customized switches that a manufacturer may have to carry.